Window glass sheet fitted with seal member

ABSTRACT

Provided is a window glass sheet fitted with a seal member and incorporated with a device such as a deicer which facilitates the device and the seal member to be installed in a proper manner. The automotive window glass sheet comprises a laminated glass sheet including a first glass sheet and a second glass sheet placed on an outboard side of the first glass sheet, and a seal member fitted on a peripheral part of the laminated glass sheet. The automotive window glass sheet further comprises a cutout formed on an edge of the first glass sheet, an electrode provided on a part of the inboard side of the second glass sheet corresponding to the cutout, a lead wire connected to the electrode and a spacer extending along an edge of the second glass sheet on the inboard side of the second glass sheet in a part thereof corresponding to the cutout and defining a flat and smooth inboard surface, wherein the inboard surface of the spacer is flush with a plane extrapolated from an inboard side of the first glass sheet, and the seal member is attached to a peripheral part of the inboard side of the first glass sheet and is attached to the inboard surface of the spacer in the cutout.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a window glass sheet fitted with a sealmember, and in particular to an automotive windshield glass sheet fittedwith a seal member.

PRIOR ART

An automotive windshield glass sheet is often fitted with a resilientseal member along the peripheral edge thereof to achieve a seal bybringing the seal member in close contact with the vehicle body panel.Such a seal member may be attached to the periphery of the windshieldglass sheet by directly molding the seal member on the peripheral edgeby insert molding, or by bonding a separately molded seal member to theperipheral edge by using a bonding agent or an adhesive tape. See PatentDocument 1, for instance. The seal member disclosed in Patent Document 1is provided with a part which is connected to a cowl top to enclose acowl box defined between the lower edge of the windshield glass sheetand the rear edge of the engine hood.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT(S) Patent Document(s)

Patent Document 1: JP2003-532574A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Task to be Accomplished by the Invention

However, the peripheral part of the inboard side of the glass sheet maynot demonstrate a smooth glass surface that will allow a favorablebonding attachment. For instance, in the case of a windshield laminatedglass sheet including an inboard glass sheet and an outboard glasssheet, and having a device such as a deicer and a defogger interposedbetween these two glass sheets, a cutout may be formed on an edge of theinboard glass sheet to place electrodes therein. Such a cutout is oftenfilled with sealing material such as urethane resin and silicone resinfor sealing the electrodes. The surface defined by the sealing materialis not so smooth as the glass surface, and is highly pliable anddeformable. Therefore, the adhesive tape may not be able to attach tosuch a surface with an adequate strength. Furthermore, the surface ofthe sealing material may not be accurately shaped so that the sealmember may not be correctly positioned in this region. If the sealingmaterial should seep out to the edge of the laminated glass sheet, andcreate a rough edge, the correct positioning of the seal member may beprevented owing to the creation of a gap between the seal member and theedge of the laminated glass sheet and other reasons. The amount of thesealing material may be controlled so as to minimize the seeping out orthe protrusion of the sealing material, but it increases the possibilityof inadequately covering the electrodes with the sealing material. Forthese reasons, inclusion of a device such as a deicer in the laminatedglass sheet may cause some difficulty in attaching the seal memberthereto by using an adhesive tape.

The present invention was made in view of such problems of the priorart, and has a primary object to provide a window glass sheet fittedwith a seal member and incorporated with a device such as a deicer whichfacilitates the device and the seal member to be installed in a propermanner.

Means to Accomplish the Task

To achieve such an object, the present invention provides an automotivewindow glass sheet (1) comprising a laminated glass sheet (2) includinga first glass sheet (6) and a second glass sheet (8) placed on anoutboard side of the first glass sheet, and a seal member (4) fitted ona peripheral part of the laminated glass sheet, the automotive windowglass sheet further comprising: a cutout (11) formed on an edge of thefirst glass sheet across a thickness thereof; an electro-conductivepattern (13) formed on an inboard side (9) of the second glass sheet; anelectrode (12) provided on a part of the inboard side of the secondglass sheet corresponding to the cutout and connected to an end of theelectro-conductive pattern; a lead wire (14) connected to the electrode(12); and a spacer (16) extending along an edge of the second glasssheet on the inboard side of the second glass sheet in a part thereofcorresponding to the cutout and defining a flat and smooth inboardsurface (22); wherein the inboard surface of the spacer is flush with aplane extrapolated from an inboard side of the first glass sheet, andthe seal member is attached to a peripheral part of the inboard side ofthe first glass sheet and is attached to the inboard surface of thespacer in the cutout.

According to this arrangement, the cutout formed on an edge of the firstglass sheet exposes the inboard side of the second glass sheet, and thiscreates a space exposing the inboard side of the second glass sheet tothe interior of the vehicle body. By providing the spacer having a flatand smooth inboard surface on the inboard side of the second glasssheet, the seal member can be retained on the window glass sheet in ahighly reliable manner. As the inboard surface of the spacer is flushwith a plane extrapolated from an inboard side of the first glass sheet,the seal member can extend along both the inboard surface of the spacerand the inboard side of the first glass sheet in a linear fashionwithout being deflected in the thickness-wise direction of the windowglass sheet. Therefore, no gap is created between the seal member andthe inboard surface of the spacer or the inboard side of the first glasssheet so that the seal member can be securely attached to both thespacer and the first glass sheet.

According to another aspect of the present invention, sealing materialis filled in a recess defined by the second glass sheet, the spacer andan edge of the cutout.

Thereby, the electrode can be sealed without preventing a favorableattachment between the seal member and the spacer or the first glasssheet.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the spacer isprovided with a narrow section (21) which is recessed from a side of theelectrode in a part thereof corresponding to the electrode, and the sealmember is provided with a cutout (34) in a part thereof corresponding tothe narrow section, the lead wire being passed through the cutout of theseal member.

This arrangement allows a space required for accommodating the electrodeand the lead wire to be ensured.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, each terminalend of the spacer abuts an end surface of the first glass sheet definingthe cutout.

This arrangement maximizes the area over which the seal member isattached to the inboard surface of the spacer and the inboard side ofthe first glass sheet along the length of the seal member so that theseal member can be attached to the spacer and the first glass sheet in ahighly even manner.

Effect of the Invention

According to the foregoing arrangements, in a laminated window glasssheet incorporated with a device such as a deicer and provided with anelectrode affixed to the inboard side of the outboard glass sheet in acutout formed on an edge of the inboard glass sheet, the seal member canbe attached to the laminated glass sheet in a proper manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a front windshield glass sheet embodying the presentinvention as seen from inside the vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a view of the front windshield glass sheet as seen from insidethe vehicle with the seal member removed therefrom;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

An automotive front windscreen glass sheet embodying the presentinvention is described in the following with reference to the appendeddrawings. In the following description, the various directions are basedon the coordinate system indicated in each drawing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automotive front windscreen glass sheet 1comprises a laminated glass sheet 2, a deicer 3 installed in thelaminated glass sheet 2 and a seal member 4 attached to the peripheraledge of the laminated glass sheet 2.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the laminated glass sheet 1 includes a firstglass sheet 6 located on the inboard side thereof, a second glass sheet8 placed on the outboard side of the first glass sheet 6 via aninterlayer 7. The first and second glass sheets 6 and 8 may consist ofper se known float glass sheets, and the interlayer 7 may consist of atransparent plastic sheet made of PVB (polyvinyl butyral) or the like.The first glass sheet 6 is formed with a cutout 11 in a lower edgethereof. The cutout 11 is passed through the thickness of the firstglass sheet 6, and is given with a crescent shape (a segment of acircle) defining an upwardly recessed region. Each lateral edge of thecutout 11 defines a smooth continuation of the cutout 11 to theremaining part of the lower edge of the first glass sheet 6. Theinterlayer 7 is also cutout in conformity with the cutout 11 so that theinboard side 9 of the second glass sheet 8 is exposed in the cutout 11.

A pair of electrodes (bus bars) 12 are formed on a part of the inboardside 9 of the second glass sheet 8 exposed in an upper part of thecutout 11. The inboard side 9 of the second glass sheet 8 exposed in thecutout 11 is additionally formed with a plurality of electro-conductivestrips (or patterns) 13 extending into the part covered by theinterlayer 7 and the first glass sheet 6. The example shown in FIGS. 1and 2 includes two electrodes 12 formed on the second glass sheet 8, butthree or any other number of electrodes may be provided. The electrodes12 and the electro-conductive strips 13 can be formed by printing andcuring silver paste on the inner side 9 of the second glass sheet 8, andare provided with a required electro-conductivity. The electrodes 12 andthe electro-conductive strips 13 may be formed in the inboard side 9 ofthe second glass sheet 8 before the second glass sheet 8 is laminated tothe first glass sheet 6 via the interlayer 7. A lead wire 14 connectedto an onboard power source is soldered or otherwise connected to eachelectrode 12. Each lead wire 14 is covered by an electrically insulatingsheath. The electro-conductive strips 13 generate heat by drawingelectric power from the electric power source via the lead wires 14 andthe electrodes 12 to heat the laminated glass 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a laterally elongated spacer 16 is attached toa lower part of the inboard side 9 of the second glass sheet 8corresponding to the cutout 11 by using an adhesive tape 17. The spacer16 may be molded from plastic material into a columnar shape having arectangular cross section, and extends laterally. The shape of thespacer 16 is not limited by this example, but may also have a triangularcross section, or the shape of a cylinder having a flat surface formedon one side thereof. The spacer 19 extends long the lower edge of theinboard side 9 of the second glass sheet 8, and terminates slightlyshort of the end surface 18 of the cutout 11 (defined by the first glasssheet 6). Alternatively, each lateral end of the spacer 19 may abut theend surface 18 of the cutout 11. The spacer 17 and the end surface 18 ofthe cutout 11 jointly define a recess 19 whose bottom surface is definedby the inboard side 9 of the second glass sheet 8. The electrodes 12 areplaced in this recess 19.

The spacer 16 includes a narrow section 21 defined by recessing alaterally middle part of the upper edge of the spacer 16 opposing theelectrodes 12 so as to extend the recess 19 downwards in this region.The spacer 16 is provided with a smooth surface 22 on the inboard sidethereof. The combined thickness of the spacer 16 and the adhesive tape17 is substantially equal to the combined thickness of the first glasssheet 6 and the interlayer 7 so that the surface 22 of the spacer 17facing inboard is flush with the inboard side 27 of the first glasssheet 6 or a plane extrapolated therefrom (as indicated by thedouble-dot chain-dot line of FIGS. 3 and 4).

The recess 19 jointly defined by the spacer 16 and the end surface 18 ofthe cutout 11 is filled with sealing material 24 consisting of urethaneresin, silicone resin or the like. As a result, the electrodes 12, theelectro-conductive strips 13, the electrodes 12 and the parts of thelead wires 14 connected to the corresponding electrodes 12 are sealed bythis sealing material 24 while the remaining parts of the lead wires 14extend out of the sealing material 24. The filling of the sealingmaterial 24 into the recess 19 is carried out after the spacer 16 isfixedly attached to the second glass sheet 8, and the recess 19 isthereby formed.

The seal member 4 consists of a plastic member insert molded around aninsert member 31. The plastic materials that may be used for the sealmember 4 include olefin elastomers such as polyvinylchloride,thermoplastic elastomers such as styrene elastomers and rubber materialssuch as ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), and polyphenylene oxide(PPO) is particularly preferred. The insert member 31 may consist of anelastic metallic member such as an aluminum member.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the seal member 4 is provided with a leg 32extending laterally therefrom so as to oppose the lower edge of theinboard side 27 of the first glass sheet 6 and the inboard surface 22 ofthe spacer 16. The leg 32 extends linearly from the main body of theseal member 4 in the lateral direction, and extends along a fringe partof the inboard side 17 of the first glass sheet 6 across the inboardsurface 22 of the spacer 16 in the peripheral direction. The leg 32 isattached to the lower edge of the inboard side 27 of the first glasssheet 6 and the inboard surface 22 of the spacer 16 by using an adhesivetape 33. The leg 32 extends downward beyond the lower edges of the firstglass sheet 6 and the spacer 16 at the lower end thereof. As shown inFIG. 1, the leg 32 is formed with a cutout 34 corresponding in shape tothe narrow section 21 of the spacer 16. The lead wires 14 extend fromthe electrodes 12 inward toward the interior of the vehicle body via thecutout 34. The cutout 34 prevents interference between the lead wires 14and the leg 32.

The lower end of the leg 32 extends further downward while bulging inthe inboard direction so as to define a U-shaped hook 35 having a convexsurface (as seen in cross section) facing the inboard direction and anopen end facing the outboard direction. The hook 35 is provided with apair of engagement claws 36 which project toward each other from eitherside of the open end thereof. A lip 38 extends from the lower end of theleg 32 in the outboard direction. The lip 38 extends upward and in theoutboard direction so as to define a convex surface as seen from theoutboard side, and abuts the lower end surface of the second glass sheet8 at the free end thereof under an elastic force. The outboard side ofthe lip 38 is substantially flush with the outboard side 41 of thesecond glass sheet 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the inboard side of the hook35 abuts a vehicle body panel 44 which supports the front windshieldglass sheet 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the inboard side of the hook 35 isformed with vertically extending grooves 45 for accommodating the leadwires 14.

The hook 35 is configured to engage an engagement piece 43 formed in acowl top 42 which serves as a lid member for closing an upper opening ofa cowl box (not shown in the drawing) provided between an engine hood(not shown in the drawings) and the lower edge of the front windshieldglass sheet 1. The upper end of the outboard side of the hook 35 issubstantially flush with the outboard side of the lip 38 and theoutboard side 41 of the second glass sheet 8.

The insert member 31 extends inside the leg 32 and the hook 35 so as tomaintain the shape of the hook 35.

The mode of operation of the front windshield glass 1 having thestructure discussed above is now described in the following. In theillustrated embodiment, as the spacer 16 is provided on the inboard side9 of the second glass sheet 8, and the sealing material 24 is filledinto the recess 19 enclosed by the spacer 16 and the end surface 18 ofthe cutout 11, the spacer 16 serves as a dam for preventing the seepingout of the sealing material 24, and the sealing material 24 is preventedfrom seeping out of the lower end surface of the laminated glass sheet2. Therefore, the end surface of the laminated glass sheet 2 can bemaintained in an even condition so that the lip 38 can be brought intoan intimate contact with the lower end surface. As the protrusion or theseeping out of the sealing material 24 can be favorably controlled, anadequate amount of sealing material 24 can be filled into the recess 19so that an inadequate sealing of the electrodes 12 can be avoided.

In the illustrated embodiment, as the leg 32 of the seal member 4 isattached to the smooth surface 22 of the spacer 16 by using the adhesivetape 33, the leg 32 can be attached to the laminated glass sheet 2 in areliable manner. Because the sealing material 24 is highly pliable, andmay not provide a smooth outer surface, an adhesive tape 33 may not besecurely attached to the surface of the sealing material 24. Because thespacer 16 is provided with a substantially same thickness as the firstglass sheet 6, and the two ends thereof are placed adjacent to theopposing edge of the first glass sheet 6, the leg 32 of the seal member4 is allowed to extend across the inboard side 27 of the first glasssheet 6 and the surface 22 of the spacer 16 linearly without sufferingfrom any unevenness in the thickness-wise direction of the laminatedglass sheet 2. Therefore, the leg 32 may be bonded to a planar surfacejointly defined by the surface 22 of the spacer 16 and the inboard side27 of the first glass sheet 6 so that no gap is created between thebonding surface of the seal member and the inboard surface of the spacer16 or the inboard side 27 of the first glass sheet 6, and a highlysecure attachment can be achieved.

As the spacer 16 is provided with the narrow section 21, the recess 19is enlarged so that the freedom in the placement of the electrodes 12 isimproved. As the leg 32 of the seal member 4 is provided with the cutout34, the interference between the lead wires 14 extending from theelectrodes 12 and the leg 32 can be voided.

This concludes the description of the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, but the present invention is not limited by thisembodiment, but may be modified in various ways without departing fromthe spirit of the present invention. The deicer 3 including theelectrodes 12, the electro-conductive strips 13 and the lead wires 14was incorporated in the laminated glass sheet 2 in the foregoingembodiment, but a per se known defogger or antenna device may beinstalled in the laminated glass sheet instead of the deicer. The narrowsection 21 of the spacer 16 and the cutout 34 of the seal member 4 arenot essential features for the present invention, and can be omittedinsofar as the spacer 16 and the seal member 4 do not interfere with theelectrodes 12 and the lead wires 14.

1 automotive front windscreen glass sheet 2 laminated glass sheet 3deicer 4 seal member 6 first glass sheet 8 second glass sheet 9 inboardside 11 cutout 12 terminal 13 electro-conductive strip 14 lead wire 16spacer 17 adhesive tape 18 end surface 19 recess 21 narrow section 22surface 24 sealing material 27 inboard side 32 leg 33 adhesive tape 34cutout 35 hook 37 engagement claw 38 lip

1-4. (canceled)
 5. An automotive window glass sheet comprising alaminated glass sheet including a first glass sheet and a second glasssheet placed on an outboard side of the first glass sheet, and a sealmember fitted on a peripheral part of the laminated glass sheet, theautomotive window glass sheet further comprising: a cutout formed on anedge of the first glass sheet across a thickness thereof; anelectro-conductive pattern formed on an inboard side of the second glasssheet; an electrode provided on a part of the inboard side of the secondglass sheet corresponding to the cutout and connected to an end of theelectro-conductive pattern; a lead wire connected to the electrode; anda spacer extending along an edge of the second glass sheet on theinboard side of the second glass sheet in a part thereof correspondingto the cutout and defining a flat and smooth inboard surface; whereinthe inboard surface of the spacer is flush with a plane extrapolatedfrom an inboard side of the first glass sheet, and the seal member isattached to a peripheral part of the inboard side of the first glasssheet and is attached to the inboard surface of the spacer in thecutout.
 6. The window glass sheet fitted with a seal member according toclaim 5, wherein sealing material is filled in a recess defined by thesecond glass sheet, the spacer and an edge of the cutout.
 7. The windowglass sheet fitted with a seal member according to claim 5, wherein thespacer is provided with a narrow section which is recessed from a sideof the electrode in a part thereof corresponding to the electrode, andthe seal member is provided with a cutout in a part thereofcorresponding to the narrow section, the lead wire being passed throughthe cutout of the seal member.
 8. The window glass sheet fitted with aseal member according to claim 6, wherein the spacer is provided with anarrow section which is recessed from a side of the electrode in a partthereof corresponding to the electrode, and the seal member is providedwith a cutout in a part thereof corresponding to the narrow section, thelead wire being passed through the cutout of the seal member.
 9. Thewindow glass sheet fitted with a seal member according to claim 5,wherein each terminal end of the spacer abuts an end surface of thefirst glass sheet defining the cutout.
 10. The window glass sheet fittedwith a seal member according to claim 6, wherein each terminal end ofthe spacer abuts an end surface of the first glass sheet defining thecutout.
 11. The window glass sheet fitted with a seal member accordingto claim 7, wherein each terminal end of the spacer abuts an end surfaceof the first glass sheet defining the cutout.
 12. The window glass sheetfitted with a seal member according to claim 8, wherein each terminalend of the spacer abuts an end surface of the first glass sheet definingthe cutout.